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Léoville Las Cases 2017

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > St Julien
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyCabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc/Merlot

One of the leading "Super-Second" growths of the Médoc. The vines are situated alongside those of Chateau Latour, just over the St Julien border. The young Cabernet vines and older Merlot vines are used for the "Petit Lion" label. The most Pauillac-like of all the Saint Juliens with a strong Cabernet Sauvignon character. Much of the Merlot now goes into Le Petit Lion. The vines further inland from the "enclos" are used to make Clos du Marquis.

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Château Léoville-Las Cases

Label

Tasting Notes

One of the finest wines of the vintage in Bordeaux, the 2017 Léoville Las Cases is a beautiful Saint-Julien that bursts from the glass with expressive aromas of cassis, wild berries, pencil shavings, violets and a subtle hint of cigar box. Medium to full-bodied, supple and enveloping, its unusually charming, sensual profile largely conceals a considerable endowment of tannin and a bright spine of acidity. Largely spared by the frost due to its optimal location on the bank of the Gironde, and subject to a draconian selection, the 2017's giving style reflects not only the vintage but also more restrained use of press wine chez Las Cases, seeing only 7% in the blend as opposed to the 10% to 12% that was typical not too long ago. It's a masterpiece. 2023 - 2065

96
William Kelley, Wine Advocate, August 2022

The 2017 Leoville Las Cases is a blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Merlot and has a deep garnet-purple color. It needs a lot of coaxing to uncover notes of crushed black cherries, warm cassis, and mulberries, plus touches of underbrush, pencil shavings, and dried lavender, with a hint of crushed rocks. Light to medium-bodied, the palate is exquisitely fine-knit, with wonderfully nuanced, delicate black fruit and mineral layers, supported by ripe, plush tannins, finishing with a lingering quiet intensity.

97
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, December 2022

Tasted blind. Deep ruby colour. Slightly reductive nose that masks the fruit. Subdued and tightly wound, there is potential here but the tannins are mouth-coating and dominant for now. Underneath, there is cool blackcurrant and layers of leather, nutmeg and tobacco. A wine for those with patience while it slowly unfurls in bottle. A long and driven finish hints at the potential here.
Drink 2028 – 2040

17
Thomas Parker MW, JancisRobinson.com, October 2021


The purity here is really something. Blackberries and blackcurrants with sandalwood, mint and other classic herbs. Full-bodied and dense with ultra-fine tannins. Silky in all ways. Goes on for a long, long time. A blend of 79% cabernet sauvignon, 11% cabernet franc and 10% merlot. Joyous and serious wine for the vintage. And comparable to 2014 and 2015. Try after 2023.

98
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, January 2020

This is a vintage that, like 1997, just might give you a chance of enjoying a bottle of Las Cases before the 20 year mark, and shows the hint of smoked caramel on the nose that you get in the lighter years. A kick of oyster shell salinity runs through the palate, helping to lift the wine out of the glass, alive with orange zest, mandarin peel, safffron, and crayon alongside the cassis and lighter redcurrant fruits. Atypical for Las Cases, but retaining clear St Julien signature.

94
Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com, January 2023

Very dark with black core. This invites you in but doesn't say much in terms of aroma. It is dark, intense and sober at heart but with flashes of colour to suggest a future revelation. Super-fine texture, so much finer than I remember earlier vintages, especially at this young age. Seems almost delicate already but has amazing and effortless concentration. Already elegant. And unexpectedly juicy on the finish. Very very long. Fruit purity persists to the end. 13.28%
Drink 2027-2045

18
Julia Harding MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2018

Violets and lavender the nose has a fragrant charm the start of the palate has bilberry freshness. Depth in the middle ripe black cherry backed by dark chocolate the tannins fine the back palate fleshy and supple. The finish is lighter stylish and long. 2027-45

93/96
Derek Smedley MW, DerekSmedleyMW.co.uk, April 2018

A song to Cabernet Sauvignon and this time, Cabernet Franc is the main backing singer. The density of fruit is superb and yet there is a depth and a power here, without necessarily being heavy, which is superb. The oak is lovely, adding a layer of complexity which doesn’t interfere with the fruit. Long and supple and not seemingly a wine which requires decades to get going, this is a stunning and fruit-driven Las Cases.

18.5+
Matthew Jukes, Matthew Jukes' Blog, April 2018
Read more tasting notes...

This is very muscular with formed and bright tannins that give the wine super drive and length. The tannins build on the finish with a lovely integration of black fruits. Serious for the vintage.

96/97
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, April 2018

This comes from 50- to 90-year-old vines and is a blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc and 10% Merlot with 13.28% alcohol, 3.72 pH and an IPT of 71. The 2017 Léoville Las Cases is deep garnet-purple in color, and wow, the nose bursts with beautiful blackcurrant cordial, blackberry pie and blueberry preserve notes followed by hints of lilacs, dark chocolate, cedar chest, sassafras and licorice with emerging wafts of oolong tea, lavender and iron ore. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is an exercise in elegance and soft-spoken nuances within a mouth-coating palate of almost electric black and blue fruits, framed by very firm, exquisitely ripe, fine-grained tannins and seamless freshness, finishing epically long and wonderfully perfumed. Damn, that’s good. Drink: 2023-2070

98+
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (March 2020), March 2020

The 2017 Léoville Las Cases, a blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon with 11% Cabernet Franc and 10% Merlot from 50- to 90-year-old vines, is deep garnet-purple in color and simply sings of crushed blackcurrants, wild blueberries and plum preserves with notions of wood smoke, cigar boxes, crushed rocks and beef drippings. Medium-bodied with wonderful intensity and vivacity, it gives a firm, fine-grained frame and a densely packed mid-palate, finishing long and earthy. This should age incredibly!

96/98
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (236), April 2018

One of the very few wines in this vintage that truly stains the glass with its wonderfully vibrant anthocyanins. This is an exceptional wine - Léoville just knows how to knock it out of the park again and again. An early vintage meant everything was blended and in barrels before Christmas, with 7.5% press wine, so this has had some time to settle down already. There's huge persistency through the palate, very similar to last year. It has presence and a grip that doesn't want to let go, and you don't want it to either. It continues to reveal itself over the course of the glass, showing slate, cassis, blackberry and charcoal. It's not as powerfully knitted as the 2016, but watch out for those tannins. I expect this will be a wine that, like the 1996 and 2016, will close down and evolve extremely slowly. Stunning aromatics. 90% new oak. 3.72pH.
Drinking Window 2027 - 2042

97
Jane Anson, Decanter.com, April 2018
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.